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I can say, with a "conscience void of offence," that I have labored, by close attention in watching results, to enable myself to give "truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." If I arrive at conclusions differing from my friends, it is not that I design to propagate error, or that I do not desire, above all things, the happiness of my race, but that I have no better sense.

Many opinions advanced by me have been combated in private and in public; yet, at this time, I know of not one which has not received sup. port from warmer hearts, and abler pens, and wiser heads, than I dare to assume to myself.

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Among these has been oats culture, and the use thereof. The object of your labors in this department being to give information, I trust may be allowed to give my views again. I do not think green oats, as a pasture, are at all advantageous to horses. I believe they will pay well when used as a pasture for hogs or cattle; for the young especially, and for brood ones whilst rearing pigs. I find that horses and mules suffer more in hot weather-pant and sweat more-when fed on oats cut up, heads and straw together, than when fed on corn and fodder; (we term blades of corn maize, fodder.) I plant oats yearly, and prefer an oatfield in June or July to any other feed for hogs; and when thus fed off to hogs, the land produces cotton the succeeding year better than after any other crop that we use as a crop. This is the amount of my oats heterodoxy, I believe.

I am also heterodox on feeding peas to hogs, and I can only refer to my published opinions; adding, I am as firmly convinced that the pea I use will destroy a stock of hogs, by turning them to the quantity I usually have, even with salt, ashes, &c., as I am convinced of any other fact in agriculture. I do not assert that it is green or dry peas, frost bitten or not; but I suggest, if it be not the decay in the pea producing a poison, as does unsound corn, ergot, and unsound potatoes, &c. I have sown this year over 50 bushels of peas, and can show 100 acres that are now almost one mass of pea-vines; yet I never let anything but my meat-hogs therein, save an occasional run of my horse stock.

My next heterodoxy is upon the culture of corn. I hold, the planters of the South do not leave corn enough on the ground. Of course I do not mean that corn is never too thick. Upon land properly drained, I prefer level culture; but if low ground, the land should be ridged; then, I doubt if so thick a stand should be left. I dare to demand of any one visiter to this place, if he has not seen, for the past 12 years, at least a fair crop for the land, and that there is seldom ridge enough to show where corn was grown; and even this dry year I will average my crop at 40 bushels, taking out a few acres of a poor washed ridge, and some fresh land where I failed in getting a full stand. I have 110 acres as a crop, and I expect 4,000 bushels; 10 acres, not included, being used as hog feed.

I now proceed somewhat in order to answer your queries. Corn.-No used that I know of: I cannot tell the average proguano duct, as the year has been generally very unfavorable. I did not have rain enough to wet the earth 2 inches from 7th April to July 4th.

The mode of culture I prefer, and therefore deem "best," is to break up land deep-6 inches-and thorough, in large beds, say of 32 feet; run off rows with a shovel plough, 4 feet distant; this is invariable with

me, giving fewer or more stalks in the row, according to poverty or richness of land. Drill corn at rate of about half a bushel per acre; cover with an iron-tooth harrow. When corn is fully up, run round with a narrow shovel-plough, (the bull-tongue, also called scooter plough,) clean with the hoe very nicely, leaving no grass or weeds; thin out either at this working, or wait for a wet spell of weather. In a few days, run round again with a 6-inch shovel-plough. I prefer these ploughings to be deep and near to corn. The latter ploughing should mould the plant well. If, by this time, grass has begun to appear in the middles, I would use an iron-tooth harrow to tear up clods and destroy all grass, if it required running the harrow twice. In the course of some two weeks after last ploughing, if time permitted, I would hoe the corn, levelling the ridge, cutting up grass, and cleaning around stumps and trees; and two weeks, or near it, after second ploughing, I would run another furrow with the largest shovel, or use the sweep, which breaks out the row, if not broken out. I would do so early enough to keep the rows clean. When my corn is in bunch, I sow peas, and either use the harrow, or sweep, or shovel-plough, to cover, which cleans the row and lies by the corn; though, if not hoed previously, I now give a hoeing, so as to leave the corn-field clean for peas and corn.

Peas. We do not plant the pea known in England and the Eastern States: the pea is different; the vine is different, growth and all; it more resembles the pole-bean in growth, but abundantly more vine, growing and fruiting best in the fall. I have seen writers, of the South, too, giving an analysis of the pea, when that analysis is of the English pea, so known by South country folks. (I allude to this that there might be a better understanding.) I prefer grinding corn for horses, mules, and oxen; and I think that when corn bids fair to sell at 75 cents a planter can afford to pay toll.

To feed hogs, I prefer making corn into meal, and then into mush, yet giving them at the same time dry corn in a separate trough. Having tested these matters, for my own satisfaction, long since, I cannot conveniently refer to my figures.

My hog pen manure, as all other kinds, is applied to cotton, and without note as to increase, my object in manuring being not alone the present increase. I therefore use manure more freely than would give correct data.

I use the cow-pea of the long variety upon all corn land, principally as a renovator; using 10 to 15 quarts per acre; being scattered as regularly as possible over the entire surface, before the last ploughing. This has been a practice of some 15 to 18 years' standing; and so thoroughly am I convinced of the value of this pea as a renovator, that I intend to average hereafter one bushel per acre, even if I have to plant and cultivate peas merely for seed. I am not satisfied that I sow now enough..

I find that where the shade is most dense, and earliest, the land has improved most. I have corn now on land cleared and cultivated in corn in 1830, which will this year give me 40 bushels per acre, to which there never has been applied any manure; no other aid used, save a rotation of two years in cotton, and one in corn and peas. The land being good, I did not deem it needful to make any greater change this year in corn; and to give a better growth of vine, &c., to turn under, I shall next

year continue in corn, and thus bring it under my usual rotation-two years in corn and peas, and one in cotton, for all ordinary land.

I hope this corn and pea story will not be tedious. I thus dwell on it because I am thought as discarding the pea; whereas, I know of not a solitary planter anywhere who bestows more labor to secure a growth of the pea-vine. I have 20 acres planted in peas, 8 feet apart, which have been ploughed three times and hoed twice; but I do it as a renovating crop. Fifty head of hogs will feed my family abundantly; I have almost two acres per head.

Horses and Mules.-I regard the growing of these animals to be more profitable than making cotton to buy them with. I have now several head, and after paying for the insurance-no other way will I breed-I do not know the expense. My colts are reared in woods, pasture and field, scarcely ever fed, and at an expense so small that I am not able to say.

I prefer to work brood mares moderately; do not want them fat, unless upon pasture feed; prefer to keep them in good condition upon as little. corn as possible. To colts I never feed corn until they work. Break geldings at five months; mares at four. They do not grow to size of the Kentucky stock, but will do as much work, live longer, and cheaper. I have a mare by Monsieur Tonson, out of a Richenel's mare, that is now a good work animal; foaled in 1835, and worked yearly since broken. I halter up mules with a three-quarter rope, Kentucky make, having the rope 30 to 50 feet long; lead the mule about, never suffering it to break loose. After working with it half an hour to an hour, before getting tired or sullen, let it loose, with halter on it, in the lot. It is occasionally led about until it will lead, and has learned not to resist, for several days, when it is put in the wagon, or gin, and worked moderately. I prefer to buy mules in October, even at $10 more, so as to break slowly in the winter.

Hogs.-The best hogs I have ever tried are the Berkshires-the ridicule of all men to the contrary notwithstanding. I believe oats, Bermuda, open pasture, abundance of water, never letting hogs out of pasture, will be found cheaper in the country at large than any other plan. The boar should not run with the stock; the sows should not be kept fat; and young hogs for the knife should never be stinted, or permitted to get poor. If corn and hogs are stinted when young, they never make a full crop by any after-labor. These are my honest sentiments, though' others equally honest may, and have a right to, dissent. Cotton. I have written more than I ought; I have no right to so much space, nor to the attention of your readers. I will close with this subject.

My average crop last year was 1,100 and some pounds; this year I think it possible that I will do better, although the year is so generally against hill-land. It is too difficult to arrive at a just conclusion as to cost of production. I have never seen a calculation that pleased me, and I cannot offer one. I have used no preventives against the enemies of the cotton crop, save the hoe and the plough. I believe my usual depth of ploughing to be 6 inches. I ridge up all land with two-horse ploughs, endeavoring to do effectual work; my rows are 4 to 5 feet distant. This year I ran, after the laying off furrow, 7 furrows to break out entire, in a 4-foot row; thus cutting less than 8 inches to each furrow-slice. I

prefer to give one or two extra furrows in the spring, and have all land 'broken up 6 inches, rather than hurry over and slight my work. I have subsoiled to a small extent, but I regard it as labor unwisely spent, unless the land has been drained; with our heavy, washing rains, the clay is washed down to bottom of furrow, and thus, when dried off, the bottom is harder than before ploughing.

Allow me to say something of the last year's crop. I believe that the commission merchants have done the planting interest harm, or I am mistaken in facts. I think, so far as my acquaintance extends, that onehalf of the bales sent off were lighter by 20 pounds than usual, owing to the difficulty of pressing-the air being so dry; and I believe there were more motes and worthless stuff called cotton sent forward than ever before. I know that there was nearly one-tenth sent from this place of such cotton as I never gathered before, and I have heard of others doing the same thing. Bolls were opened, and the pods taken out, which had been injured by the frost so much that I only expected it to be bought for making paper.

Now let us estimate: Admit one million of bales went forward lighter by say 15 pounds-thus there would be 37,000 bales less actually; admit only a twenty-fifth went forward of the motes and frost-bitten 'bolls, we would have 100,000 other bales: take this from the actual receipts, and it will nearly make up for the deficit in American consumption, or it will give less available cotton in Europe than is shown by those interested in the cry of a large crop.

The present crop will not be materially less than the crop of 1850, although the hill crop per acre is decidedly less; yet the planters acting so suicidal as they do, having planted more extensively, and the swamp lands doing so much better than usual, with increased culture, we need not count upon less than the crop of 1850.

My own crop, though as good as that of 1850, probably, yet is under my average of 12 years. I therefore place my figures at 2,300,000 bales.

I hope, honored sir, that these hasty remarks may aid somewhat in the objects contemplated by your labors for the benefit of agriculture.

With respect,

Hon. THOMAS EWBANK,

Commissioner of Patents.

M. W. PHILIPS.

Query.-Are not stalks of cotton and corn really stalks, and not STOCKS, as many write them?

TEXAS.

BROWNSVILLE, CAMERON COUNTY, TEXAS,

January 29, 1852.

SIR: Your Agricultural Circular has been handed me by our postmaster, and I hasten to respond to such of the queries as can be answered from this section of country. We are in, or about, 26° north latitude.

Corn is the only agricultural product raised at this time in the valley of the Rio Grande. Average product per acre 60 bushels (when we get a crop at all). Cost of production, not exceeding 12 cents.

The system of culture here is entirely different from any part of the United States. The plough used is made of the crotch of a mezquit, or other hard wood, with an iron point slipped on and held in its place by claws. The ground is generally ploughed with these ploughs three times, and planted in rows 3 feet apart. When the corn is 4 to 6 inches high it is ploughed again, and the ground thrown to the plants; when knee-high it is hoed, and again hoed just before tasseling. It is all consumed in preparing food for our own people; and we annually import from New Orleans an immense quantity.

Neat Cattle are raised here in immense quantities. The breed is the native cattle of this country and Mexico. They are herded upon our prairies and mezquit ranges-one "vaquero" being sufficient to attend to 200 or 300 head. He earns $6 per month, and his ration of corn costs about $1 more. On this he is bound to support himself and family; and it is generally the case that man once engaged as a servantremains so all his life.

The cattle breed at between two and three years of age; and, as we have no hay to cut, no soiling, or stall feeding, the cost of rearing until three years old is merely nominal.

Our Mexican neighbors will sell heifers, rising three years old, at $3 per head. Our steers are broke to the yoke at three or four years old. They are yoked by the horns, (quite a primitive way,) and are rendered tractable by the unceasing use of the goad, (a long stick with an iron spike in the end.) Our beef is allowed by judges to be of the finest flavor-equal to any to be found in the Union.

Horses and Mules.-Our stock-raisers divide their mares into parties of 25 or 30 each, with a stallion, or proof jack, as it may be desired to raise horses or mules. They are herded in the same manner as our neat-cattle, and the cost of raising does not materially vary. Mares for breeding purposes are now worth $6. They could be obtained two years since at $3 and $4, but the demand for the interior has reduced the supply here and raised the price. Unbroken colts, (average,) at three years old, can be bought for $8 to $10. Mules, at $30 to $40 per pair, according to their appearance; and full grown mules, at from $20 to $40 for superior ones.

The manner of breaking a young colt for service here is, to throw him by the lasso; and, while down, gird on the heavy "vaquero" saddle;. blind his eyes with a band made for the purpose, and let him rise. His being blindfolded prevents any movements on his part, until the rider is seated in the saddle, with his heavy whip and tremendous spurs. The bandage is then removed from his eyes, when he commences plunging and rearing, to detach the unaccustomed burden from his back; the rider plying whip and spurs as fast as his strength will permit. A gentle horse is then ridden in front of him, and he is induced to follow, first slowly, then faster, until finally it becomes a run. He is thus run until pretty well tired, when his head is turned and he is ridden back gently to the place of starting, and is considered broke.

Sheep.-Sheep are raised pretty extensively here. They are consid ered the most profitable stock that can be kept, as they yield a quicker

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